Okay, I have been a nurse for almost eight years, and in this time I have been a part of multiple code situations (more than I can count, probably more than I can remember.) However, in all of this time, I have NEVER done chest compressions on anyone. I have bagged, I have run for supplies, I have started IVs, and I have done the charting. Yet, I had never done chest compressions, at least not until two weeks ago.
I had two patients that night, one of whom was extremely busy and extremely sick. Thankfully the other was doing very well and was just waiting for a bed to come available so he could get transferred out of the PICU. My sick baby, four weeks old, had "misbehaved" when I was at lunch and once when I went to the bathroom. Of course, I had left another nurse in charge of him, so he was okay when I got back to the room. The other nurses teased me that he didn't want me to leave him.
Well, last thing before I leave, his heart rate starts to drop and I end up doing chest compressions on him. It is very strange to do chest compressions on someone who weighs all of six pounds. Very strange and definitely life altering. I have to admit that I struggled over the next few days with all the psychological implications of having to do these chest compressions. I am very grateful I was there, the respiratory therapists at the bedside gave me the positive reinforcement I needed after he was stabilized. Thankfully this was never a full blown code situation and his heart rate was back up, on its own, within 30 seconds. However, the affect on me has been profound! That little guys life was literally in my hands, that is a very scary place to be, thankfully I didn't have time to think about that until AFTER the fact!
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